I Could Be The One Fish
by SinIsAnotherNameForPleasure
Summary: Ichigo says something odd and Chad has no clue what it means. Slight ChadIchi. Partial songfic? Inspired by Hellogoodbye's "If You Wanna I Might ".


A/N: Fuck I should be updating my other stories ;A;

I thought of this randomly one day, and wanted to get it down before I forgot. It actually started off as an image, and evolved into...a fanfic. -headpencil- Oh well.

I am going to be discontinuing my story Gangs of New York, as it has turned out to be a huge disappointment. My oneshots are more popular. So I'll be taking it off soon. I don't know if I'll even bother to write the smut chapter. As Shadows Play in the Shape of a Man's Desire is still alive, however, never fear. It's doing very well, in fact. :)

This might not make any sense unless you are familiar with this song D:

xx/.I Could Be The One Fish.\\xx

For once, nothing was out of the ordinary at Karakura High School. Students chattered away without a care in the world, homeroom the only thing separating them from the freedom of a Saturday afternoon. No hollows, no Soul Reapers.

In class 1-3, a certain Yasutora Sado, or Chad, was quietly reading a book as he fingered the pendant around his neck. Orihime and Uryuu (mostly Orihime) were talking about different sewing patterns and which stitches worked best in which situations. Keigo was freaking out about something while Mizuiro ignored him. All in all, a most ordinary day.

Or at least, it was until Ichigo Kurosaki stood up from his seat near the window and walked stiffly towards Chad. Sensing the orange-haired boy approaching, Chad laid down his book and looked expectantly towards his best friend.

Ichigo stopped about ten paces from Chad's desk, biting his lip nervously and refusing to meet his friend's eyes. The Mexican boy raised one eyebrow, although it wasn't noticeable due to the hair that hung in his eyes. The whole class seemed to be watching the two boys, almost suffocated by the tension that hung in the air. Even Tatsuki had stopped beating the crap out of Chizuru to pay attention.

"Uh...are you all right, Ichigo?" asked Chad gently. Ichigo flinched slightly, aware of his classmates and their intense staring. He swallowed thickly. Now or never.

"I..." he mumbled, making Chad strain to hear.

"What was that?"

"I could be the one fish!" said Ichigo loudly and defiantly, clenching his fists as he finally made eye contact with the tall boy. The school bell rang shrilly and Ichigo took that as his cue to gather up his stuff and leave as quickly as possible. His classmates filtered out after him, but Chad simply sat there, slightly stunned. It was only when Orihime timidly touched his broad shoulder that he stood and walked out the classroom door, mind frantically trying to process what had just transpired.

The walk home was long, made even longer by the thoughts swirling around in Chad's head. _I could be the one fish? What does that even mean?_ he wondered as he plodded along. _It doesn't make sense. It doesn't even sound like a complete sentence. What was he talking about? And why did he make a point to say it in English, as opposed to Japanese?_

Chad wasn't a stupid person. He was ranked 11th in his class, after all. But this was enough to give him the beginnings of a headache.

As he mused, he made it a point to be aware of his surroundings, looking for something, anything that could give him an idea, a flash of insight.

The video rental store? No.

The health food store? Well, they sold fish, but that made no sense.

The CD store? No--

Wait.

Chad raised his head. It was that odd CD store that Ichigo sometimes dragged him to, the one that made big business selling foreign music. Something about what Ichigo had said made Chad pause. _I could be the one fish. I could be the one fish._ It sounded like poetry -- or song lyrics. And if they were the words to a foreign song, then it would make perfect sense for him to say them in English. Elated with his discovery, he all but ran into the shop, eager to discover the answer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ichigo rammed his head into the wall repeatedly.

_Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!!_

What had he been THINKING, saying something like that to Chad?! Something so corny, so obscure, so stupid, stupid, stupid! _I could be the one fish?! I could be the one fool is more like it! God, what was I THINKING?! Obviously I WASN'T!!_

Ichigo's bedroom door creaked open and an irate Karin poked her head in. "Ichi-nii, not to be rude or anything, but can you please stop banging your head against the wall before I do something incredibly painful to your manhood?" Without waiting for an answer she slammed the door shut. Ichigo unconsciously crossed his legs and rested his forehead against his wall, honoring his sister's...request...not to hit his head on it.

Chocolate eyes stared at nothing in worry. _I've had...feelings...for Chad for a long time now,_ he admitted to himself. _I didn't say anything because I was afraid I'd ruin our friendship, but...I mean, he's a guy!! I'm a guy! People already...it's not...gahhhhhh._ Frustrated, Ichigo mussed up his already wild orange hair. _God, and what do I do? Confess my love using a line from a song most Japanese people have never even heard of, and never will! _Ichigo sighed. _Oh well, at least it'll be damn near impossible for him to figure out what it means. And if he asks me about it I can just play dumb or pretend I was delirious from a fever...yeah, that should work..._

The substitute shinigami fell backwards onto his bed, staring up at his plain white ceiling. Somehow, the thought of brushing his feelings for Chad off as nothing more than fever-induced deliria made him slightly depressed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chad was stuck again.

And not just stuck.

_Agitated_ as well.

He couldn't find a single band or song called "I could be the one fish". And none of the music playing over the intercom system contained that line either. The tall boy sighed. It was getting late. He could continue his search tomorrow, in hopes of finding something. He trudged out the door, feeling downhearted.

Of course, Chad had been entranced with Ichigo from almost the first moment they laid eyes on each other. His bright hair, his almost arrogant demeanor, and of course -- his loyalty. Ever since that day they made the promise to watch each other's backs, every time they fought for one another, Chad was reminded of that loyalty. It wasn't long before he realized that he was, in fact, _in love_ with Ichigo Kurosaki.

Chad groaned. It wasn't _right, _they were both _boys_. They were already ostracized enough as it was, because of Chad's Mexican heritage and Ichigo's orange hair. The last thing they needed was the stigma of homosexuality hanging over their heads.

But didn't his abuelo tell him that it didn't matter who you loved, as long as you loved them? It was completely true, and Chad couldn't think of an argument that could stand up to that. Besides, it's not like he was gay -- he'd felt attracted to girls in the past -- it was just that he...

...loved Ichigo.

Chad crouched on the ground, holding his head in his hands as he blushed uncontrollably. A few people gave him odd stares, but he paid them no heed. After two minutes of shaking and blushing from the cuteness of the statement he'd just made in his head, Chad pulled himself together and resumed his walk. His eyes shone with a new resolve, determined to figure out exactly what Ichigo had been trying to tell him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday afternoon.

Ichigo lay in bed, trying hard to breathe.

She knew.

His baby sister _knew._

_She knew that he had feelings for his best friend._

Not only that, but she had given him _LOVE ADVICE!!_

Karin was _eleven, _for god's sake!! She shouldn't be talking about things like love, or sex, or _condoms._

He took another peek at the pink wrapper sitting oh so innocently on his desk.

_Strawberry flavored condom_, it read.

Ichigo threw it against the wall.

Enough puns on his name, already!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chad had been searching since one o'clock in the afternoon.

It was now almost three.

He sighed. Maybe he should just ask Ichigo tomorrow...

Then he whipped around so fast his neck almost popped.

There! That song on the intercom!! He'd distinctly heard the line being sung! He listened carefully, vaguely admiring the catchy beat as the words drifted from the speakers.

_But if you wanna say "I-I-I like you"_

_I might feel just like you_

_If you choose - choose not to_

_I knew - knew you would_

_Sometimes I think I am out of my league_

_And then sometimes I think I can dream_

_Sometimes I wish I could be the one fish_

_That you choose out of all in the sea_

And it hit Chad like a two hundred pound bag of cats.

A goofy grin spread itself across his face. _So that's what Ichigo was trying to tell me._

He rushed to the boy behind the counter and pointed to the ceiling. "What is the name of this song, who sings it, and can I have their CD?"

The teen looked slightly shell-shocked. "Uh, sure. The band is Hellogoodbye. Here's the CD," he said, handing it to Chad. "As for the name of the song, it's..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ichigo sighed. Homework done? Check. Clothes ironed? Check, courtesy of Yuzu. I-was-stricken-with-fever-induced-deliria-so-I-said-stupid-stuff excuse for Chad? Sadly, check. He looked at the clock. Eight thirty-three PM. The sky had just started to darken not ten minutes ago, and there was still the dusky afterglow of the sun lingering in the sky.

Ichigo crossed his arms and stared at his ceiling. Hopefully, things could go back to normal tomorrow. It could be like none of this ever happened.

The doorbell rang. Ichigo ignored it.

Then it rang again. And again.

"Ichigo, could you get that?" yelled Yuzu from downstairs. The corner of Ichigo's mouth pulled down in a half-frown before he got up and descended the staircase, taking two at a time. Why couldn't Karin or Dad get it? It wasn't like they did housework like Yuzu did...

Oh. That's why.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched his father and younger sister snoozing in front of the TV, Karin's brow unfurrowed for once as she snuggled against Isshin's side, her father snoring gently with his mouth open.

Yuzu saw him staring and giggled. "I took a picture," she whispered, grinning. Ichigo chuckled as he opened the door.

Silence. The street was empty.

Ichigo frowned. Damn punks.

He was about to go back inside when he noticed a little piece of paper taped to his door. Curious, he peeled it off. Probably a challenge by the local delinquents.

But when he unfolded it, he immediately knew it was something better.

_As for the name of the song?_

It was Chad's neat handwriting, perfectly straight and even despite the paper being unlined. It was only five words and two punctuation marks, but as Ichigo read the short message, it made him happier than he'd been in a long time.

_If you wanna, I might._

A/N: and that's the end. D:

The end is kind of confusing? I think that it's clear, but then again I wrote this D:

Reviews are greatly appreciated :D


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